1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automobile jacks and wheel or tire changing systems, and particularly to a remote control system featuring motorized jacks permanently attached to the vehicle, and to a wheel system in which the wheels are not secured by lug nuts, but are removed under motorized control.
2. Description of Related Art
The flat tire is perhaps the most frequently encountered mishap requiring roadside repair of a motor vehicle. The process of changing a flat tire requires jacking up the vehicle, unbolting the lug nuts, removing the wheel, replacing the flat tire with a good spare tire, replacing the lug nuts, and lowering the vehicle to the ground. Unfortunately, many motorists are not mechanically inclined and have not familiarized themselves with where the jack for their car is stored, nor what type of jack it is or how it operates. Occasionally the jack provided by the vehicle manufacturer may prove difficult to operate or not well suited for the vehicle. A further problem is removal of the lug nuts, which is always a messy job, and if the nuts have been overtorqued, may require considerable physical effort. Of course, Murphy's law usually applies, and flat tires usually occur in rush hour traffic and in inclement weather, rendering the chore more hazardous and uncomfortable. A system for jacking the automobile, removing the flat tire, and installing the spare tire which dispenses with the necessity of using tools would therefore be desirable.
A variety of devices have been proposed for making the task of jacking the vehicle and changing a flat tire an easier process. U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,937, issued Nov. 17, 1987 to Y. C. Chung, teaches connecting the transmission pin of a motor driven air compressor to both the compressor and the piston of a hydraulic jack so that the compressor drives both simultaneously to both lift the vehicle and inflate the tire after repair. U.S. Pat. No. 4,993,688, issued Feb. 19, 1991 to Mueller, et al., discloses a built-in power jack, including a pair of pneumatic jacks attached to the vehicle chassis or frame at the center of the front and rear suspension operated by a switch on the dash.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,188,379, issued Feb. 23, 1993 to Krause, et al., shows a leveling system for recreational vehicles which uses four hydraulic jacks located at the corners of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,429, issued Jun. 15, 1993 to B. E. Shelton, describes a vehicle lifting system which uses a hydraulic jack mounted at each of the four wheels of the vehicle, the jacks being telescoping to permit a smaller size jack. U.S. Pat. No. 5,224,688, issued Jul. 6, 1993 to Torres, et al., also shows a vehicle lift system with separate hydraulic jacks at each of the wheels.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,232,206, issued Aug. 3, 1993 to Hunt, et al., describes pneumatic jacks mounted to the vehicle chassis adjacent the wheels operated from a control panel on the dash. U.S. Pat. No. 5,377,957, issued Jun. 3, 1995 to J. David Mosley, discloses hydraulic jacks mounted at the four corners of the vehicle which may be raised to a horizontal position for storage, and lowered to a vertical position for use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,636,830, issued Jun. 10, 1997 to L. P. Chartrand, describes a hydraulic lift system with hydraulic cylinders mounted on hydraulic struts which rotate to a horizontal position for storage and a vertical position for use. U.S. Pat. No. 5,713,560, issued Feb. 3, 2998 to J. D. Guarino, describes four hydraulic jacks positioned at the axles and operated from the dash.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,641, issued Mar. 3, 1998 to Martin, et al., teaches a tire changing system with a plurality of hydraulic jacks and an air compressor mounted to the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,810, issued Jun. 16, 1998 to F. Mattera, discloses a jacking system with four pneumatic air jacks controlled from a panel on the dash.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,727, issued Mar. 31, 1987 to Chang, et al., describes a scissors jack driven by an electric motor mounted on the jack and powered by the vehicle battery by a cigarette lighter plug, operation of the jack being controlled by a switch on a controller disposed in the power line between the motor and the plug. The motor shaft is coupled to the horizontal screw of the jack by a deceleration gear box.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.